Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman: Spring

There is a quiet courage in making an album like Spring, with just two seasoned musicians sitting with the material and letting it develop. In unsettled times, it feels almost revolutionary. Tierney Sutton has long understood that the heart of a song lies in its words. Here, she treats the lyrics as truths to be uncovered. She bends a line just enough to make the listener hear it anew. Tamir Hendelman proves to be the ideal partner, with his refined touch and his instincts rooted in service.

The album opens with two Antonio Carlos Jobim classics, "Double Rainbow" and "Waters of March." On the former, Hendelman offers a tasteful, lush prelude. Tierney follows almost imperceptibly, her wordless vocal floating ethereally before settling into the lyric, establishing the album's premise of quiet renewal. On the latter, Tierney's inventive arrangement guides her through the cascading imagery with clarity. Hendelman keeps things buoyant with crisp, dancing figures that never pin the song down.

Paul Simon's "April, Come She Will" becomes a tender meditation. Sutton infuses the song's impermanence with conversational intimacy. Hendelman responds with gently shifting harmonies that suggest time passing just out of reach. The indomitable singer/composer Peggy Lee penned "Things Are Swinging," which brings a welcome lift. Sutton captures its buoyant spirit, and Hendelman responds with an extended solo that is playful yet elegantly structured, swinging hard while remaining mindful of the song's lightness.

From tracks seven to twelve, the recurrence of "spring" in the titles begins to feel less like a coincidence and more like a quiet thesis. In these songs, spring is not merely seasonal but a terrain of emotions, including promise, hesitation, warmth, memory, and renewal, each approached by Sutton with intimacy, never overstating the sentiment. Hendelman adds harmonic nuance to each setting, suggesting both light and shadow.

The title track "Spring" by Dori Caymmi & Tracy Mann has an introspective feel, with Sutton's reading deeply felt and almost hushed. Hendelman's approach is spare and luminous, with each chord placed with care. Tommy Wolf & Fran Landesman's brash original "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" unearths a bittersweet truth that renewal can reopen old wounds, and Sutton's delivery draws out the lyrics' rueful edge. Hendelman mirrors her with harmonies that underscore the song's ache.

Frank Loesser's gem "Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year" subtly inverts expectations. Where one might expect melancholy, Sutton and Hendelman offer warmth and measured optimism. Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul's "Spring, Spring, Spring" offers a brief peek into the craft of lyric writing. Sutton delights in the language, shaping each phrase with care. Hendelman provides a nimble, responsive framework that keeps the performance percolating.

Michel Legrand, along with Alan & Marilyn Bergman, wrote what is often considered one of the greatest songs about spring, "You Must Believe in Spring." Sutton renders the song with reverence and restraint, letting the melody speak for itself. Hendelman's support is understated, lending the number its soothing inevitability.

What resonates about the album is not just the idea of renewal but also its honouring of complexity and refusal to rush to resolution.